Lights Out
by Stella-chan
Summary: When things start to go missing during the annual Odd Squad lock-in, it's up to Olive and Otto to find the culprit and bring them to justice.
1. Joke Beat: On The Case!

**Author's note: Hi there everybody! Welcome to my first (to be completed) official fanfic of anything _ever_! Pretty crazy! This story is still in the works, but I got too excited, so I'm going to start posting it now! I don't know my timeline as far as posting the chapters will go, but hopefully you guys won't have to wait too terribly long between uploads! (Maybe a week at a time?). Anyway, feedback is always welcome... especially if I goof something up on formatting and whatnot! I've never used this site before so I'm not really sure how it all works. Guess I'll find out as I go along! Enjoy~!**

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It was another day on the job. Agent Otto and Agent Olive had just arrived on the scene of their next case for "Odd Squad"- the agency that they worked for. Odd Squad was an organization run by kids that investigated anything strange, weird, and especially odd. It was their job to put things right again. The team had been informed by their leader, Ms. O, that there was some bizarre activity in a nearby neighborhood and had been sent from headquarters to help. Olive and Otto exited a portal connecting the two locations and stepped into a lush, green backyard, which they surveyed until their gaze fell upon a teenage boy that was waving them over.

"Odd Squad! Thank goodness you're here!" He sighed in relief. The pair of agents jogged over.

"We came as fast as we could, Sir! What seems to be the trouble?" Otto questioned. His attention turned to an object that the boy gestured to.

"It's my lawnmower." The teen explained, ruffling his hair in confusion. "Every time I try to start it up, this happens!" He tugged on the cord that normally would cause the machine to roar to life, but the mower didn't respond in the way the agents expected. Instead, the device let out the sound of a party horn while simultaneously blasting a cloud of confetti out into the air like a canon. The agents jumped in surprise.

"Whoa!" They exclaimed in unison. The teen chuckled nervously.

"Yeah, it was fun for a while…" he admitted. "… but my parents will be home soon and I've really gotta finish my chores before they get back!"

"Not a problem." Olive said cooly. The girl reached into her back pocket and pulled out a small handheld gadget. "This looks like a job for our 'Too-Much-Partyinginator'." Carefully, she pointed the object at the lawnmower and pressed a button. A beam of light shot out and spread over the mower in waves, then died down.

"Try it now." Olive suggested. The teen cautiously leaned in and yanked on the rope. After a bit of sputtering, the machine roared to life and was back to normal.

"Alright! Awesome!" He shouted, throwing his fists up in celebration. "Thanks Odd Squad!"

"Happy to help." Olive nodded. "Let's go, Partner!" She and Otto turned and sprinted back to the portal, which had somehow decided to place itself in a birdbath. The two jumped in and disappeared in a blue flash of light, not even touching the water. Right as they departed, the teenager took a good look around the yard and his face fell as he came to a sudden realization.

"Aw man… Now I've gotta mow the lawn AND clean up confetti! How am I gonna get all of this done in time?!"


	2. Chapter 1: Reunion!

**Author's note: Hey guys! I know it's been a billion years since I updated this fic, which is pretty goofy considering the entire thing is almost 100% written already... and has been for a while! Woops! Anyway, here's the first chapter! Please note that this whole thing was written before episodes like "Oscar of All Trades" had even aired, so it's not _tightly_ canon (in other words, this was before we knew that Oscar founded the scientist side of the squad... I told you this had been written for a while!). Also it should be noted that I've tried to figure O.C's badge number a few times, but every method I use counts it differently so I don't even know anymore haha. I guess I'll just stick with 175 for convenience sake! Anyway, thanks for all of your feedback! There's more to come!**

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"INCOMING!" came a cry from the tube lobby. It was O'Brian, one of the agents in charge of transportation to and from Odd Squad. Olive and Otto stepped out of their respective transport tubes and stretched.

"Welcome back Otto, Olive." O'Brian didn't bother glancing up from the Shmumberman comic he was reading as he greeted them.

"Thanks O'Brian." The two chorused as they exited the room.

"Oh, by the way guys, watch your step. There's a meeting…" the redhead finally looked up to address the two, but trailed off upon seeing that they had already left the lobby. "Eh, they'll figure it out."

Otto had to laugh as he reflected on the case.

"Man, I wonder how that guy's going to clean up all of that confetti. If I was him, I probably would-" the dark haired boy was suddenly cut off as he knocked into a girl standing on just the other side of the doorway. She jumped as he fell backwards and crashed onto the floor.

"Ohmygosh, I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed as she reached down to help him up.

"Don't worry about it." Otto groaned. As he stood up he noticed that the majority of the office had gathered in the main room around the agency's insignia on the floor. A shorter girl was standing in the middle of the circle, giving him the stink eye. It was Ms. O, their boss.

"As I was saying…" she continued. "This is agent 175: O.C." Ms. O indicated the girl that Otto had crashed into. O.C. had straight, medium-length brown hair and sported a navy headband that matched the rest of her uniform. "She'll be staying with us while the professionals work to tackle her headquarters' Jellippo problem."

"Jellippo?" Otto questioned, leaning in to whisper to Olive.

"Think of hippos, but made entirely of jelly." She explained. Otto's eyes lit up.

"That sounds delicious!" he quietly exclaimed.

"And dangerous." Olive smirked.

O.C. waved to the crowd.

"Hi everybody! Thanks again for letting me stay here! Trust me, things were getting _really_ crazy over there. I don't know who decided to feed them snagglebeans, but boy howdy…" She looked slightly terrified for a second as she recalled the mass chaos that ensued from the event, but then came back down to Earth and continued to address the agents. "I look forward to working with all of you while I'm here! … However long that'll be…"

"We're glad to have you O.C.! Plus, it's great to see you again… even if it _is_ under dire circumstances." Ms. O assured her with a smile. Momentarily she placed a hand on O.C.'s shoulder, then turned back to the crowd and once again raised her voice.

"Alright people, one more announcement! As I'm sure you're aware, our annual Odd Squad lock-in is tonight! This is the one night of the year that we all get to spend the night at headquarters having fun, so let's make the most out of it! Remember though, I don't want anyone making too much of a mess, and because of that the pudding room is _strictly_ off limits this year. NO EXCEPTIONS!" A few agents groaned in protest, but the girl ignored them.

"I'll see you all tonight. Meeting adjourned! Now, BACK TO WORK!" With that, the sea of agents dispersed.

As agents shuffled passed, Olive and Otto stepped forward and extended their hands to shake O.C.'s.

"Hi O.C.! Nice to meet you. I'm Olive." Olive introduced herself. "I'm really sorry about your Jellippo problem. I've heard stories." O.C. shook Olive's hand and gave a sheepish grin.

"In all of my days as an agent I've never seen so much jelly!" She remarked. "I have a feeling they'll be scrubbing down the rafters for weeks." She once again appeared slightly overwhelmed, but the look fizzled as she turned to Otto, who thrust out his hand almost awkwardly.

"I'm Otto." He stated, before giving a little chuckle. "But I guess we've already met, huh? Sorry about that."

"Oh no, it was my fault! I shouldn't have been so close to the door!" O.C. sputtered.

"Eh, don't worry about it." Otto shrugged. "It happens to me all the time." He took a minute to let Olive's light giggling subside.

" _Yeah it does._ " She playfully jabbed behind her laughs.

"Are you done?" He questioned in mock annoyance. Olive gave a little cough, then straightened up, gently tugging at her suit coat.

"Yeah." She smiled. She was fond of her partner, but was all too familiar with how inattentive and occasionally accident-prone he could be. After all, during one of their cases they had traveled back in time multiple times to stop some dinosaurs from destroying headquarters. It had taken Agent Otto at least three times to remember to duck to avoid a flying fish hitting him in the face, even when he knew it was coming.

"So, what's your history with Ms. O?" Olive asked.

"I used to work here actually!" O.C. answered with a little bounce. "Ms. O was recovering from the 5th flooding of headquarters when I first arrived, but she did a great job of picking up the pieces and leading us! I loved it here, but my current headquarters needed agents, so my partner and I wound up transferring after a while. I was really sad to leave, but that's how it goes."

The two agents nodded in understanding and there was a brief pause. Otto squinted quizzically at the girl, who appeared to be 12 years-old at best, but was speaking about her experiences on the force many, many years ago. He wondered if he should even bother trying to get an answer to his age-old (no pun intended) question- ' _How_ _old are you exactly_?'. After a momentary consideration he decided that it wasn't worth his time. Perhaps he'd try a different get-to-know-you question.

"Say…" Otto started thoughtfully, putting a finger to his chin. "I have to know- what do the initials in your name stand for?" She girl stared back at him for a minute, seemingly caught off guard by the question, but then let a playfully sly smile creep across her face.

"Classified!" she chirped, almost with pride. Otto frowned and crossed his arms skeptically.

"'Wait, as in the C stands for 'Classified'? Or is that 'Classified' as is you can't tell us what it actually stands for?" At this point in his career of working at Odd Squad, he'd probably truly believe the first choice. O.C. didn't budge, though.

"Classified!" She repeated with a wink. Otto sighed. This wasn't the first time he had been denied information (important or not), and it surely wouldn't be the last. He decided to let it drop.

Suddenly there came a bubbly greeting from the railing upstairs.

"O.C.!" Called the upbeat voice. It was Oscar- one of the best scientists at Odd Squad. The group looked up to see him on the second floor balcony excitedly making a move toward the slide.

"Oscar?!" O.C. exclaimed. "No way!" She watched as he made his way down, then the two dashed at each other and met in the middle for a hug.

"It's been so long!" the girl finally said as she stood back to look at him. "I had no idea you joined the squad!" The blonde haired boy chuckled and grabbed the lapels of his lab coat proudly. "Yeah! I actually joined right before you left! It took me a while to get through training, but here I am! Unfortunately you transferred right as I got done. It was meant to be a surprise, but…"

"I had no idea!" O.C. repeated. "What a bummer! Working with you would've been so much fun! I mean, having a close friend on the scientist side of things…" Once again Oscar let out a laugh, though it was slightly nervous. If only his friend knew how long it had actually taken him to become a scientist… He had been fired 60 times before he got the job!

"Wait, so you know Oscar too?" Olive questioned.

"Me and O.C.?" Oscar beamed. "Oh yeah, we go way back! Way, way, way back. Like, I'm talking WAY back! Like years and years and year-" O.C. shook her head softly and gave an understanding smile. There he went on one of his long rambles for emphasis again. Some things never changed.

"We grew up together!" She explained over Oscar's continuous background 'years'. "We hung out all the time when we were younger. We played a ton, went on all kinds of adventures, daydreamed about joining the squad... Man, those were great times…" She took a second to take him in again. "I really missed you, pal!"

"Same to you!" Oscar admitted, adjusting his glasses. "Oh! Y'know, my lunch break is actually right about to start and I heard that Oksana –she's our lunch lady- made lasagna sandwiches. Would you maybe want to join me for a bite and catch up a bit? For old times sake!" he offered. O.C. agreed and the two headed off toward the break room, but not before waving goodbye to Olive and Otto.

"Well they seem happy!" Olive pointed out.

"I don't blame 'em." Otto said. "It's always cool to find a long lost friend! Sounds like they had a lot of fun together."

"And speaking of fun… We had better finish up our work so we can get ready for all of the fun at the lock-in. You know Ms. O won't let us do anything tonight otherwise." Olive reminded him, glancing woefully at stacks of paperwork on their desks.

"Don't worry partner, we've got this!" Otto encouraged, throwing his hand up. Olive didn't even need the prompt; almost instantaneously the two agents were engaged in an elaborate secret handshake, which they completed with a battle cry of "BOOM PAPER-WORK-A-LOTTA!" before plopping down in their chairs.


	3. Chapter 2: Whisky Business!

The sun had set over headquarters and the mood in the building had changed. The normal, slightly more serious tone of the workplace had fizzled and- though things hadn't quite kicked off yet- there was an electric energy in the air. The office was buzzing with anticipation as pajama-clad agents returned from their homes with backpacks slung over their shoulders and sleeping bags in tow. The office had been decorated as well: Streamers hung from the balconies like falling stars, complete with lazily blinking lights at the end of each string. One of the scientists had used the Starry-nightinator to make the ceiling reflect the night sky. Millions of stars twinkled above the heads of the agents, and the moon had begun its ascent. Olive stood leaning against the main entrance with an enchanted smile on her face.

"I'm here!" Called Otto as he rounded the corner. "And I brought chips!" He waddled over to Olive with his arms overflowing with various objects. She gently grabbed her partner's duffle bag and pillow.

"Otto…" she joked "… You know this party's only one night, right? We aren't moving in." Otto nodded his head in thanks and flipped his hair out of his eyes.

"I know!" He replied. "But it's my first lock-in and I wanted to make sure I was really ready! I brought food and a flashlight, some movies… Some Soundcheck CDs, extra blankets to make a pillow fort…" The two strolled over to their desks and plopped the stuff down as Otto continued to excitedly list stuff off. Olive briefly tuned her partner out, but she swore she heard the boy say he brought a blender… why?

"… for milkshake emergencies…" he stated, unaware that she was no longer fully listening.

"You brought a _blender_?" came an aloof voice from behind them. A dark haired boy with thick-rimmed glasses pushed by the pair with a large mixing bowl in his arms. He stopped for second. "Why? The kitchen has plenty…" He gave a judgmental frown.

"Like I said _Oren_ ," Otto repeated cooly. " _Milkshake emergencies_."

"Whatever." Oren replied with a roll of his eyes and a shake of his head. He started off again, but didn't get too far before Otto fired back at him.

"You can't get after me for bringing a blender when you brought a giant mixing bowl. Did you think the kitchen ran out of _those_?"

Oren glanced back at the boy in what seemed to be genuine bewilderment.

"This isn't a _bowl_ , Otto. It's the best game ever invented. Isn't that obvious?" Otto's tone suddenly changed upon hearing Oren's words.

"Ooh, I love games! Which one is it?" He asked curiously. Suddenly a small girl with long hair came bursting into the room wielding a cinched velvet bag.

" _Whisk_! YAY!" she shouted, enthusiastically dropping the bag on a table. Oren followed and dumped the contents of the bowl in front of her. A detailed continental map spilled out along with several tiny pewter game pieces and a game guide that must've been as thick as Otto's thumb.

"Get a load of this, Orchid…" Oren snidely remarked. "Otto's never heard of _Whisk_." The short girl straightened up and her smile faded.

"What?!" Orchid asked. "It's a global sensation! Literally! The goal is to conquer all of restaurants in the world and become the best chef on Earth! You do that by engaging in baking battles and culinary warfare. It's so fun!" She stuck out a finger and gestured to one of the many pewter game pieces. Upon closer examination, Otto noticed that the tokens were impressively accurate miniatures of chefs.

"Huh, sounds interesting. Count me in I guess." Otto said. As he stared toward the table, Olive put a hand on her partner's shoulder to stop him.

"Otto, I don't think you wanna play that game." She cautioned with a shake of her head. "It takes at least six hours." Otto's eyed widened as he took in his partner's words. How would he get anything else done during the night?!

"What?! Whoa, never mind! Count me out!" he exclaimed.

"Suit yourself, _Sherman_." Orchid shrugged, pouring out her bag of dice. The multi-sided objects glimmered in the light, showing that each one had iridescent flecks of colored glitter suspended inside.

"What about you, Olive?" Oren asked in a rare civil tone. "You wiped the floor with us last year. I'd honestly welcome the challenge again." Olive nodded but held up a hand.

"Thanks for the invitation, but I'm gonna have to duck out this year." She replied. "I want to make sure that Otto has a fun first lock-in, so I shouldn't be tethered to a game." The other agents agreed, then began setting up the board.

Just as Olive and Otto turned to scope out headquarters for things to do, they spotted O.C. and Oscar stepping through the main door. The pair was engaged in a lively conversation, and whatever the girl said had sent Oscar into a hearty laugh. Olive and Otto stepped over to say hello.

"Oh hey guys!" Oscar chimed. "How goes the party so far?"

"It hasn't started yet." Olive pointed out, indicating the still relatively quiet room.

"Huh, that's a first!" Oscar observed. "Normally I'm late to these things. Oh well! I'll take it! Besides, that leaves me more time to show off my new slippers!" he grinned and stuck out one of his feet, waving it around in the air. The ears of his jackalope slipper flopped around as he shook it, brushing against his beaker-patterned pajama bottoms.

"And look at the sole!" he exclaimed as he held it out for the agents to see. The bottom depicted a banana bunch on either side of the rubber grip. "I leave the craziest footprints now!"

"Cool!" Olive smiled.

"I wish I had remembered my own slippers!" O.C. sighed, clasping her bare arms to her sides. "I didn't even think about it! Guess I'll have to deal with cold feet all night, huh?" Oscar cringed.

"Sorry about that! I should've told you to pick some up! I forgot mine last year… My toes were freezing all night!" He was about to launch into a detailed story about the event, but before he could begin, his friend spotted one of the game tables.

"Hold the phone, is that _Whisk_?!" O.C. gasped, before dashing off.

"Oop, there she goes!" Oscar jumped. "I'd better go after her!" Apparently the boy had taken it upon himself to be her guide for the night.

"Catch ya later!" Otto called after their friend.

Olive and Otto continued their patrol of the vicinity, peeking into the breakroom to see what kind of things were on the menu for the night. From there they strolled over to the ballroom. As they passed the _Whisk_ table Olive overheard O.C. gushing over Orchid's glittery dice and laughed to herself. " _What a nerd._ " She thought affectionately. Before she and Otto could explore much more, Ms. O approached the overlook and called the agents to gather on the floor below her.

"Attention!" she bellowed. The room fell silent and all eyes glanced up at her. "Welcome to the lock-in, everyone! I'm glad to see you all made it! Remember the rules I went over this morning. I want a fun night with no trouble. Now, let the fun BEGIN!" She threw her arms up in the air and held the pose for a second in silence. After waiting a brief stint, she coughed expectedly, then let out a low growl, followed by a shout of "OSCARRRR!" The blonde boy could be seen frantically dashing up the stairs with a gadget in hand. When he reached the top, Ms. O cocked her head to the side, turned to address the crowd once more, and then put her hands together.

"Let's try that again." She said sweetly. "Let the fun BEGIN!" Once again she threw her arms up in the air, and simultaneously Oscar slammed a button on the gadget.

The main lights shut off in the room and colored party lights from all around started blinking and dancing wildly, casting their beams in every direction. Lasers played on the walls, complimented by clouds of fog pouring out of fog machines. Upbeat music began blasting from the speakers at the DJ booth manned by Oksana. The normally dead-pan cook was spinning tunes and shaking her body to the beat as agents spilled onto the dancefloor in front of her. The party had indeed started, and the night looked like it was going to be awesome.


	4. Chapter 3: Buster the Bedtime Badger!

A few hours passed, but even though the party had been underway for a while, the agents were far from slowing down. With everything in full swing, the kids had danced away any troubles they might've had, enjoyed some admittedly strange food choices for dinner, and even splashed on a giant slip-and-slide. The time had come for a midnight snack at the ice-cream station in the break room.

Otto ecstatically drooled over the choices with a twinkle in his eye, trying to figure out just how tall he could practically stack his bowl.

"What do you think Olive? Chocolate syrup, m&m's, caramel, gummy worms, nuts, whipped cream, then sprinkles… or whipped cream, gummy worms, m&m's, syrup, nuts THEN sprinkles?" He carried on listing different variations and stacking methods until he spotted another full table of toppings. He let out an excited squeal, but followed shortly after it with a groan. He'd have to start his planning all over again!

Olive laughed and slid by her partner with her bowl of plain vanilla ice-cream.

"Let me know when you figure it out!" she hollered back at him. "I'll save you a seat."

She surveyed the breakroom and spotted two open chairs at a table where Octavia sat. Olive wandered over.

"Hi Olive!" Octavia sang with her normal cheery little wave. Her pigtailed hair bounced as she spoke. "How have you been enjoying the night? Isn't it fun?!"

Olive gave a nod and dug her spoon into her dessert. "What's been your favorite part?" The dark haired girl asked.

"Honestly, it's been playing with Buster… my Glow Moon doll!" Octavia answered. She reached down and proudly raised up a stuffed animal that had been sitting in her lap. The toy looked like a plump baby badger wearing a nightgown. Tiny markings adorned his fur that were shaped like stars and moons.

"Is that the toy that lights up when you push a button or something?" Olive asked. She had seen commercials for the plush on tv, but had never actually seen one in real life.

"Sure is!" Octavia answered. "You use this cute little wand that he comes with!" From the pocket of her pink footie pajamas she fetched a short stick about the size of a pen. The wand was a pale blue and had clouds, moons, and stars mirroring the badger's protruding slightly all around it. She waved the object over the animal's head and like magic the markings on his fur illuminated with a dull, warm light. The sight brought a delightful grin to Octavia's face, and she let out a small joyful squeak, then pulled the plush into a hug.

"Isn't he the greatest?" She swooned. "I've been going around headquarters all night showing him to people. He's so cool! The perfect toy for a night like this in my opinion! He's like, the king of sleepovers!"

Olive smiled. It was always a good feeling to see her friends so happy. While stuffed animals weren't really her thing personally, she had to admit that the badger _was_ pretty cool.

"Alright, I figured it out!" Otto announced as he made his way over to the table. Both Olive and Octavia jumped as he dramatically slammed his ice-cream bowl down on the surface with a "thud" for emphasis. The boy's sweet treat towered dangerously high and sported various quantities of literally every topping offered to the agents.

"Gosh Otto! Do you really think you can eat all of that?" Octavia questioned. A skeptical (and slightly alarmed) look played across her face.

"Are you kidding? Watch me!" Otto scoffed with pride. Both Olive and Octavia leaned in expectedly to watch the show as the boy clutched his spoon. He opened his mouth and lunged toward the bowl…

Suddenly the lights flickered, shutting off completely for a split second. The agents looked around in confusion, wondering about the unusual power surge. When the lights came back on Olive was about to make a comment about the incident, but her thought was cut off by the sight of a now empty bowl in front of her partner. Her eyes widened as she stared at Otto.

"How did you do that?!" She exclaimed in disbelief. Otto beamed.

"Well," The boy started.

The lights flickered again, then shut off once more. This time however, they stayed off and the background music streaming from the DJ booth went with it. Agents shrieked and screamed in surprise at the sudden lingering darkness. Through the chaos came a whistle that pierced the noise. The kids quieted and their attention turned toward the direction of the sound. A dim, small flashlight clicked on and illuminated the face of Ms. O.

"Calm down everyone!" She bellowed, raising a hand to silence the crowd completely. "Remain calm. We probably just blew a fuse with all of the activity. I'll send someone to check it out and get us back up and running." She squinted a bit and surveyed the crowd. Her gaze landed on two boys- Agent Owen from the security sector and O'Callaghan from maintenance.

"Owen! O'Callaghan! Go together and turn the lights back on!"

"Right away Ms. O!" Owen chirped with a small salute. He sprinted off in his space shuttle pajamas.

"We're on it!" O'Callaghan seconded. With a flip of his red hair (or was it a wig?) he dashed after Owen.

The room was awkwardly silent for a moment when the attention turned back to Ms. O. She stared back at the expecting agents, who apparently were looking to her for further instruction.

"Well… what are you waiting for?" She muttered, not entirely sure of what to do while the pair fixed the switch. "MAKE SMALL TALK!" With that she dramatically clicked off her flashlight and sauntered off.

Olive crossed her arms and shook her head, then turned back to her friends at the table.

"This is perfect!" Octavia squealed, pulling out the tiny wand again. She waved it over Buster the badger once more and admired the glow coming from his fur. With the lights off he seemed to be much brighter. Several gasps, "ooh"s, and "ahh"s, came from around the room as agents noticed the pretty patterns and curiously approached the table. Soon there was a crowd standing around fawning over the plush, and in the dim light Octavia looked rather pleased.

The quiet chattering went on for a while as everyone waited around for the lights to come back on. A few minutes later power was finally restored and a cheer erupted from the eager group. However, not everyone was quite as thrilled. A shriek from Orchid stopped the celebration. Olive and Otto leapt up instinctively, then scrambled across the office to the _Whisk_ table. The young agent was frantically throwing things around in search of something.

"What's wrong, Orchid?!" Otto asked. He had never heard her scream in alarm quite like that before.

"My dice!" she yelled. "My special sparkly dice! They're gone!"


	5. Chapter 4: Jump on it!

**Author's note: Haha HEY EVERYONE I'm still alive and still have this dusty thing sitting on my computer... collecting dust. The only reason I haven't dumped the entire story up here yet is because I'm trying to fully iron out the ending still. Life has just been getting in the way! Hopefully I can just do a big ol' chapter dump soon. Thanks for your patience!**

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Orchid continued to dig through objects near the _Whisk_ game table in search of her dice. She flung an open backpack out of the way, sending it soaring toward Otto. From behind her, Oren's partner Olaf shouted in protest.

"POTATO!" he yelled as a bag of potato chips exited the backpack. The salty snack sailed by Otto's head, narrowly missing him. The dark haired boy flinched and dodged the chips just in time. Olaf dove after the bag and caught it right before it hit the floor.

"Are you sure you didn't just leave them somewhere accidentally?" Oren questioned as he helped the girl look. "We _did_ just pause for ice cream before the power went out."

"Positive!" Orchid growled, though she wasn't trying to be aggressive. "They were right here on the table and now they're gone!"

"What makes those dice so special, anyway?" Olive inquired. She eyed a large pile of dice on Oren's side of the table, wondering what set them apart. Orchid stood up and looked as if she was about to lash out at Olive, but then closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and raised her arms in a manner that appeared like she was trying to keep from blowing up. She realized that her coworkers were only trying to help, and that getting mad wouldn't solve anything, even if they _were_ asking obvious and dumb questions in her mind.

"Those dice were a gift from a wizard." She explained in an eerily calm tone. "I helped him solve a really tough case and he gave me the dice as a thank you, so they're very special to me."

"Yikes." Otto grimaced. "We'll help you find them! They couldn't have gone too far!" He and Olive joined in the hunt, but their efforts proved to be fruitless. The group scoured the area, but wound up giving up after a few minutes.

"Here Orchid," Oren said finally as he got up from the floor. "You can use some of my extras. I know they aren't from a wizard, but they'll work just as well. Maybe it'll be easier to find yours once we clean all of this up tomorrow." He indicated the mess that was strewn all around them on the floor. The pile of knapsacks, sleeping gear, and other various items made it look like the group had constructed a giant nest around themselves. Orchid stubbornly agreed to the bespectacled boy's offer and he slid a handful of dice in her direction.

"Thanks." She sighed, climbing back into her chair.

"Don't worry, they probably just fell into a pocket somewhere." Olive stated in an attempt to ease Orchid's glum mood. "Like Oren said, I'm sure they'll turn up in the morning!" Orchid shrugged, then took up the dice that Oren had given her and started shaking them together in her palms, making them click together softly.

"Alright, well let's get back to the game then." She directed. She cast the dice and leaned in to read the numbers. Her mood seemed to brighten instantly. "HA! A 16! Looks like your bakery is _mine_!" The girl smiled and snatched a game piece from the board. Oren's face fell as he and Olaf returned to their chairs.

" _Seriously_?!" He cringed, slumping down into the seat.

Olive and Otto departed from the group upon seeing that the situation had been resolved for the time being. As they made their way back to the breakroom, Oscar and O.C. came bounding up to them.

"What was all of that about?" Oscar panted. "We were upstairs and heard screaming. Is Orchid okay?"

"She's fine." Otto informed them. "She just lost her dice for that game they've been playing all night."

"Oh no!" O.C. exclaimed. "Not those awesome sparkly ones! Those are so cool!"

"Oof… Bummer." Oscar agreed. "Well I'm sure they're around here somewhere! Does she need more people to help her look for them?" Before either Olive or Otto could respond, O.C. spoke up.

"Eh, they'll probably show up in the morning." She stated, nodding her head toward the mess. "I mean, wizard dice never stay lost for long. Just give it time!"

The gears in Olive's head were turning as she subtly eyed the girl. O.C. ran her fingers through her hair as if she was antsy.

"Come on Oscar, let's go to the game room! I bet you anything I can still beat you on _Super Crash Sisters_!" The brown haired girl gave the scientist a friendly little punch in the arm, then made a move toward the lab, which had been transformed into a game room for the night.

"Yeah right!" Oscar responded with a cheeky smile. "You better watch out O.C., I've been practicing since the last time I saw you!"

"Oh it's _so_ on!" O.C. fired back. "See you guys later!" The two jogged off with a wave, leaving Olive and Otto watching as the ears of Oscar's jackalope slippers bounced to and fro.

"So how about the trampoline room?" Otto suggested apropos of nothing.

"Huh?" Olive asked, coming off of her train of thought. Her gaze had shifted to watching Owen and O'Callaghan, who were in the midst of a conversation with a scowling Ms. O on the other side of the office.

"I heard Ori say that the trampoline room is open." Otto answered. "I've always wanted to check out that room, so let's do that next!" Olive smiled and gave a little nod.

"Race you there!" She dashed out ahead of her partner.

"Hey, no fair!"

The trampoline room was everything that Otto had hoped for and more. Floor-to-ceiling was nothing but bouncy, springy surfaces. The pair jumped to their heart's content pretending that they were on the moon, playing invented games, and seeing who could bounce the highest. The two were having so much fun that they didn't even notice how much time had gone by. When they exited the room finally they noticed that the lights had dimmed, which probably meant that a few agents were getting ready to settle in for the night.

"Geez, we must've been in there for an hour or two." Otto observed. "Think we should get ready for bed?" He turned and looked down at Olive to get her opinion.

"Probably wouldn't hurt." She admitted. "It's been a really fun night!"

"I'd say." Otto said nonchalantly, lazily kicking his leg out in front of him. "It's good to officially know that I can jump the highest between the two of us!" Olive rolled her eyes.

"That's only because you have longer legs." She pointed out.

"Perhaps…" Otto started. "Or _maybe_ it's becau-" His thought was cut off my the lights shutting off once more. "Ugh, not again!" He groaned into the darkness. I don't even think the music's going anymore, is it?"

"If it was, it isn't now." Olive sighed. She instinctively reached for her agent badge, which doubled as a flashlight. To her dismay, she suddenly remembered that she (like every other agent) had taken it off for the night. After all, the badges didn't really go with too many people's pajamas. "Did you bring a flashlight?" she asked.

"No." Otto replied, also grasping for his badge without thinking.

"Me neither. Here…" With one hand Olive reached back and grabbed her partner's hand, then felt the wall with the other. "Let's stick together until we get back to the main room."

"Good plan." Otto agreed as they started creeping forward. While they moved, he ran his free hand over the various doors they passed. He felt part of a large, squishy ring on one door… They must be passing his favorite room: the donut room. They took a few more steps forward… fabric on a clothesline: The laundry room. A few more steps and he was touching a captain's wheel for the ocean room. He couldn't see his hand in front of his face, but he knew there was an emergency floodlight somewhere around the corner. If they could just make it there they'd be in the clear. It was times like this that he was glad he wasn't scared of the dark. He had no reason to be…

… At least, he used to have no reason to be.


	6. Chapter 5: Turn Off the Dark!

**Author's note: Please keep in mind that this chapter was written before season 2 started, so at that time there was no creature department or Agent Ocean!**

* * *

Otto suddenly felt something large and fluffy brush against his pajama pants leg. The boy yelped in alarm and quickly recoiled in surprise, jerking his partner backwards.

"WHAT WAS THAT?" he yelled. Even though his eyes had adjusted to the darkness, there still wasn't much he was able to see.

"Ow!" Olive exclaimed. "What was _what_?!" From the direction of her voice, Otto could tell that he had accidentally pulled the girl to the ground. Normally he would apologize, but in the midst of his fright, the thought hadn't entered his mind. He pressed himself against the wall.

"Something ran passed my leg!" He whimpered. Olive grunted and pushed herself up.

"Otto, it was probably nothing." She assured him. "Darkness always plays tricks on people. I wouldn't worry too much about-" she stopped abruptly as they heard a commotion behind them, followed by a clattering and a slam. The girl changed her tune in an instant. "Yeah, okay never mind. Let's go!" She insisted in a panic. She groped around in the dark again until she seized onto Otto's arm, which she then ran with, wrenching him from the wall.

The two hastily charged toward the main office, with Olive keeping an arm extended in front of them to avoid crashing into any unseen wall they might come upon. Once they rounded the corner they breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of the floodlight illuminating the area. The two straightened and Olive dropped Otto's arm. The agents took a second to catch their breath before surveying the main room of headquarters. In the low light of the emergency lighting the agents could see that sleeping bags had been laid out just like they had expected. A few agents looked like they had already fallen asleep and were blissfully unaware of the second power outage of the night. The two made their way to Ms. O, who was sprawled out in a chair with a frown plastered on her face.

"Ms. O, there's somethi-" Olive began.

"Not now." The girl interrupted.

"But something's-"

"SHHH." Ms. O made a 'shut your mouth' motion with her hand, all while never taking her eyes off of the power supply room. She looked as if she was expecting something. Olive and Otto glanced around and noticed that a group of agents had gathered and were also focused on the room. The duo waited a second and finally saw the bouncing beam from a flashlight appear and approach them. As the beam got closer, it became apparent that it belonged to Owen and O'Callaghan. The redhead looked troubled and shook his head. In his hands he studied a round object. It was the cantaloupe that acted as the power supply for all of headquarters.

"Well?" Ms. O questioned as the pair arrived in front of her.

"This one wasn't stolen, but it _has_ had a bite taken out of it." O'Callaghan reported. He offered up the cantaloupe, turning it in his hands. When he rolled it over, a large, deep gash could be seen, exposing innards of the watery fruit. All around the group came quiet gasps and mumblings. Ms. O ignored them and took the object, taking a minute to pour over it herself.

"Can it be fixed?" She asked hopefully, taking a harder look at the missing chunk.

"I mean, we can try to patch it somehow." O'Callaghan shrugged. "It's not the easiest thing to do, but it could definitely get us by until morning."

"Do what needs to be done." Ms. O said solemnly, handing the melon back to the boy. "I wonder who or what could be doing this?"

"Something's loose in headquarters!" Otto burst out, beside himself.

"What?" Ms. O asked, raising her eyebrows. All attention turned to Olive and Otto.

"We were walking back from the trampoline room and I felt something furry brush across my leg. Maybe that's what took a bite out of the cantaloupe!" The boy speculated.

"I suppose it's possible…" Ms. O admitted. "Owen, how long do the door locks work if the power's out?" The agents looked highly alarmed at this thought. The most dangerous rooms in headquarters were protected by electronic locks. If the building was without power…

"No need to worry about that, Ms. O." Owen assured her. "Our backup generator may not be able to power the entire building for too long, but it will definitely keep the locks shut on the doors for 24 hours." The crowd eased up a bit at that information. At least they wouldn't have to worry about dinosaurs or robot princesses escaping.

"Thank goodness." Ms. O sighed in relief. "Still, something could very well be loose in here. I need someone to… ah! Obfusco!" She beckoned to a mustached boy in the crowd, and he stepped forward. He easily looked like his mind could've been on the moon somewhere; He had a bright and happy gleam in his eyes, though he simultaneously seemed absent behind them. Agent Obfusco wore many hats (so to speak) in Odd Squad, though in reality he was only ever seen sporting his signature cowboy hat. His duties around headquarters spanned from trainer to party planner and creature wrangler. Tonight he was wearing a two-piece pair of pajamas that had a pattern of tiny cowboys riding horses on them.

"What can I do for you, Ms. O?" He asked, running his fingers across his facial hair thoughtfully.

"If there is a creature in here, you'll be the one that can find it." She replied, giving the agent a stern look in the eyes. "Are you up for the task?" The boy beamed, then reached behind his back and pulled a lasso seemingly out of thin air.

"Like a ballerina fishing for caterpillars on the sun, you can count on me, Ms. O! Fear not, for I will find the creature and bring him…" he paused for dramatic effect and then stuck out his hands as if he was ending a long-winded stage performance. He completed his sentence almost in a whisper. "… to justice."

"Thanks Obfusco. I knew we could count on you."

Obfusco mounted a headlamp onto his hat, then galloped off fearlessly into the hall of doors, lasso in hand. After he rounded the corner, Ms. O allowed herself to recline again and exhaled heavily.

"I'm _really_ getting too young for this…" She muttered to herself.

"I'll work on setting up the other generators." Owen informed her without prompting. Ms. O gave a silent nod of appreciation, then waved him off.

A few agents had collected their flashlights and were anxiously pointing them around the office. No one was quite sure of what was loose, and they didn't want to take any chances. Even Orchid, Oren, Olaf, and the rest of the _Whisk_ players had left the game table and joined the huddle. Seemingly everyone was on edge, though they didn't want to admit it. Some agents clung to prized stuffed animals that they had brought with them for the night. Octavia was no exception. Once O'Callaghan and Owen had set off, she turned to grab her Glow Moon doll from behind her on the table, but was shocked to see that the plush badger was no longer keeping her seat warm. She gasped and stifled an outburst. As much as she wanted to scream, maybe doing so with an unknown creature on the loose wasn't the best idea. She made a quick motion and started rapidly pawing at the air.

"What is it partner?" Came a quiet voice out of nowhere. The seemingly empty space was actually occupied by Oz- Octavia's invisible partner.

"It's Buster!" She whispered frantically. "Look Oz, he's gone!" The boy peered around the pigtailed girl.

"Oh no!" he responded. "I don't see him under the table… Where did he go?" Octavia shrugged and gave the boy a grief-stricken look before speaking up, generally addressing the crowd.

"Guys! Has anyone seen…" Everyone knew how this one went. Octavia often asked if anyone had seen Oz. Whether the girl did it as an ongoing joke, or genuinely was inquiring about her partner's whereabouts was a mystery to most of them. "… my Moon Glow doll? The little light up badger?" The group made quiet, confused murmurs of "No" and "Sorry, not me.". No one actually expected her to be looking for someone other than Oz. Together, they began making movements to help their friend search for the object.

"What were you doing before you lost him?" Otto asked, joining the effort.

"We were just sitting here talking. Octavia replied, appearing like she was trying hard not to tear up. The little badger was her favorite toy. "Before the lights went out it was me, Oz, and O.C.. Did you see where he got to O-" She turned to address the visiting agent, but saw that the brown-haired girl had also vanished. "Oh, now where did _she_ go?"

Olive once again snapped to attention and furrowed her brow while the crowd continued to shuffle around and look for the lost toy.

"Partner." Olive started, gently pulling Otto aside. "I don't want to jump to conclusions, but I'm beginning to feel pretty suspicious." She whispered. Otto looked puzzled.

"About what?" he responded.

"Buster is the third thing that's gone missing tonight. Are you noticing a pattern here at all?" Otto thought for a second. He couldn't honestly say that he had noticed a similarity between the lost dice, cantaloupe, and badger doll other than the fact that they were missing. He didn't have a chance to think it over too long though before Oscar came waddling up to them, bleary eyed.

"Mmmmh'ey gais." The scientist said drowsily. "'Have anyaya you seen my slipperz?" He stumbled a bit, but caught himself by placing a hand on Otto's shoulder for support. The blonde then laughed at his own fumble. Olive and Otto shared a glance, then turned to the boy.

"Uh… Oscar?" Olive questioned.

"Whoa, whacchout for tha sailboattttt." The bespectacled boy warned lazily, pointing a few fingers at a clock on the wall. "Theeeeey'llll getchaaa…"

"I think… he's sleep walking…" Otto whispered cautiously, appearing clueless as to what to do in such a situation.

"Let's get him over to his sleeping bag." Olive mouthed, delicately placing an arm around the boy. She and Otto stood on either side of Oscar and carefully helped him hobble over to his belongings. While Otto unrolled his sleeping bag, Oscar peered up at the sky that the Starry-Nightinator gadget had made, as if in a trance.

"So pretty…" he murmured.

Olive began to help Oscar bend down to crawl under his blankets when she paused, seeing that his infamous jackalope slippers legitimately were missing.

"Oh boy…" She thought out loud as their friend laid down in his sleeping bag. Oscar removed his glasses and smiled a warm, content smile as his head rested on the pillow. He began spouting gibberish, but quickly faded off into a snoring lump.

"His slippers _are_ gone." Olive reported as she stood back up. Otto brought a hand to his forehead.

"Ugh, what else is gonna go missing?" he asked with a sigh, ruffling his black hair in frustration.

The lights flickered on again as the generator started up. Even though they had been dimmed for the sleeping agents, things were considerably brighter than the darkness. In the low light Olive noticed something that she had been unable to see in the blackness: a faint set of muddy prints trekking across the floor in front of her.


End file.
